It seems that the most dangerous conclusion I can make here is that brands whose names start with ‘H’ are the shittiest ones.
After reading Alok sir’s post on Honda first and then Hyundai in the last couple of months, I now present my problem as a close one of a distressed Hitachi consumer. I hope someone here would be able to help me out with this.
As all would know Hitachi is known to be one of the most premium brands when it comes to Air Conditioners and obviously one has to pay a premium over other brands to buy it. And of course, the buyer then expects a best quality, long lasting product and a superior customer service/care in case of problems. But the issue here is that it’s exactly the opposite on both fronts. ‘Unchi dukaan, Pheeke pakwaan‘. Now the story (as it happened with my sister)-
“I bought a Hitachi 1.5 Ton AC in April 2011 and it suddenly stopped working on 1st September 2012. I filed a complaint with their customer care and a person came when I was not at home and said that the motor has to be changed and the cost involved is Rs. 3,500. My grandmother was not aware of the issue and hence couldn’t take the decision at that time of whether to go ahead with it or not so she asked him to come at a time when I was present at home and probably care to call before dropping in. Nothing happened. No response for a couple of days. So, I called back the customer care to follow-up only to know that my complaint has already been closed. I mean wow! So, I filed another complaint and this time the guy called me and spoke to me in the ‘are you stupid?’ mode. First questioning me as to why did I lodge another complaint and then telling me that my AC cannot be repaired as they do not have the required motor in stock and before I could ask/say anything else he hung up the phone on me.” That’s a complaint case closed at Hitachi, it seems.
After which I did some internet research and found out the names and e-mail ids of some top guys and forwarded them the complaint yesterday. This included the Customer Service Head, Executive Director, Managing Director, Chief Administrative Officer and the likes. And the mails to all of them bounced except one to the Executive Director. And I am not really expecting a reply after seeing the scheme of things.
A point to note here is that Hitachi India doesn’t have a social media presence, in this day and age. Maybe they are just saving their ass by not being present only. Seeing this, the only thing that comes to my mind is ‘Na rahega baans na bajegi baansuri‘.
Having put my case in point here, I really wish brands like these stop making the customer a Kasht-a-mar (as one of my friends rightly puts it) and go back to the age-old philosophy of ‘Customer is King’.
Aditya Kumar Nayak
Maybe I am isolated case but I have had really awesome experience with them. Once they came within 2 hours of lodging a complaint and did not even charge for the service as it turned out to be a simple configuration issue
Ankur Sharma
Man..either you’re lucky enough or I am tad unlucky! Let’s see how have others’ experiences been…
Sai Rodinhood Pothuri
i think, its all depends on the local service operator who got connected to hitachi, in some areas we see fast and speedy solutions and in some cases its going to be bad experience and well being a global player, its difficult to work on each and every complaint but if hitachi gets its service centers then, if they fail we can get a chance of filing a case in consumer court. but make sure that the person who spoke with you is a hitachi service guy or local service guy who also takes care of hitachi like he takes care of other companies
Thanks
Sai
Ankur Sharma
Thanks Sai. You mean they could be having a shared service center with other brands? But how do I get to know that?
Sai Rodinhood Pothuri
Dear Ankur,
Hope these links help you.
https://www.hitachiconsumer.com/in/page.aspx?pageid=168
https://www.hitachi.com/contact/consumer/asia.html#India
i can suggest you to do couple of things
1) Shoot them the email with all details relating to machine, bill details , and also the complaint numbers each and every thing. if possible scan the bill copies, machine detail copies and mail them
2) once you receive any confirmation mail with ticket number or complaint number then wait for 24 hours and see if you can receive some call or some response, if nothing happened then call to the office numbers directly, request the receptionist to connect you to the concerned country service head or what ever and tell him the exact problem or even you can get his direct email and mail the same to him.
People do provide service but the problem all comes with communication. if your service person is a shared service centre then other than your hitahchi, he might be having problems with other companies, customers like that, so he wont get enough time to speak with you
I hope you got my point
Thanks
Sai
Rajiv Lulla
off tangent, would like to mention that 4 years back, I had a major issue with GoAir, which was not resolved at the airport level in Mumbai. ( I was travelling from Mumbai to Hyderabad, my home) .
As is usual with me, I went to their web-site and shot off faxes (they do not give e-mai lid’s, I wonder why ) to all heads mentioned, VP – Ops, CEO, Chairman (yes, the scion of Wadia family) and 2-3 more.
Within 6 hours, I got a call from the VP – ground operations, mumbai and a further 12 hours after that, the issue was solved !!
Any wonder that, I always travel GoAir, if I have a choice ?
Sai Rodinhood Pothuri
The main problem is with first and second level managerial staff, the reason behind is simple, company kicks them every minute, tremendous work pressure and you know they only concentrate on sales, or any thing where they get clients and money. even if you shoot the problem its like a small issue for them to take care. and negative side is that the top management people like VP, CEO or who ever they wont get these problems into notice, until customer files a complaint in consumer court or customer hits them directly.
So for big companies its always better to hit with top management people if your problem not rectified with in time
Thanks
Sai
Praveen
you can use linkedin to may be reach to some higher-ups. i had the same issue with LG and Airtel where i needed some issues resolved and e-mails bounced back. reached through linkedin and got immediate responses and resolution.
Sai Rodinhood Pothuri
Praveen, Good point shared
Thanks
Sai
Abey John
I have a similar problem with a Carrier A/C which I bought because of the perceived superiority over Samsung. Just too tired to chase after customer care….